Delivery of services provided to customers of a network is becoming more competitive as the number of service offerings increases. Many service providers provide telephone services, Internet access, video services, other appropriate services, or any combination thereof to customers. These services may be provided to the customer's premises via a packet-switched network.
Currently, networks of the service providers are expanding, thus, requiring video access devices, such as digital subscriber line access multiplexers, to be installed at locations remote to a service provider's offices, such as a central office. The video access devices can be located within neighborhoods that support a set of customers. As each video access device is installed or has problems, a technician typically needs to be dispatched to test the video access device.
When a technician is dispatched, the service provider incurs significant costs related travel time to and from the remote location where a particular video access device is located. Issues with test equipment can also arise. Each video access device or each technician may have their own test equipment, resulting in many sets of the same test equipment. Many video access devices are located within housings that are exposed to outdoor ambients. The test equipment may be sensitive to some environments (temperature, moisture, etc.). Also, technicians need to be trained to use the test equipment. The various issues with dispatching technicians and test equipment can significantly impact a service provider's ability to expand an existing network, promptly address a problem or service call, or the like. Such issues can result in increased costs to the service provider, inability to add new customers as quickly as desired, loss of existing customers due to problems taking significant time to address, or the like.
The use of the same reference symbols in different drawings indicates similar or identical items.